Factory Built Home Companies, True Game Changer – Here, Now – Impact on Manufactured Housing?

This could be either a threatening game changer, or the wakeup call that the manufactured housing industry needs.

You can now buy factory-built homes on Amazon.

That report on Futurism and on other mainstream media was confirmed by MHProNews.

The video promoting this particular model shown is being viewed at about 10 times the rate on YouTube as the Clayton Homes “Have it Made” TV ad/video campaign is being viewed (see screen captures, below).

You can see the video, promoting the home sold on Amazon by Wisconsin-based, Mods International modular-prefab-container housing producer, further below.

That’s $36,000 plus shipping. While HUD Code homes are still a better cost per square foot, will growing demand reduce the price of such competitors? Isn’t that the lesson of production – more demand, more production, costs decline – with all products?

For the last few years, MHProNews, MHARR, and several “Industry Voices” quoted here on the Daily Business News have sounded off on the opportunities – and the internal and external challenges – to making those opportunities a reality.

In a memo to clients, “There’s 101 reasons the manufactured home industry should be flying high, as you know,” said consultant and publisher L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach.

“But there are a variety of reasons the HUD Code manufactured home industry is threatened,” Kovach said.

The Daily Business News has been tracking the various moves – and threats – being reported by operations within and outside of the U.S. Chinese modular homes is just another such issue.

3,363 views as of 2017-10-23_16:48, that spotlighted view count is how often this video has been shown. That’s about 10 times the view rate on the Clayton Homes video, see screen capture further below. It’s the Amazon effect.

This particular model is one of the most cost-effective container home seen to date.

That view count reads 1,682 as of today’s timestamp of this screen capture. While some are gushing over the Clayton Homes video, what ultimately matters is how the public responds to the campaign. Plus, commericals are just that – advertising. The public knows the difference between self-promotion, and their party commentary, shown by third party media.

Manufactured homes remain a better value, per square foot. But as the Daily Business News reported months ago, Americans seem to be searching for “the Single Sectional Manufactured Home Alternative.”

what part of the HUD Code home industry won’t be impacted if low cost foreign mods, or multiple configurations of container housing, or other kinds of building technology finally catch up to manufactured housing in cost, zoning, financing, etc.?

Chinese companies have been promoting their products here in the U.S. for the last few years. Sources tell MHProNews, some of those Chinese made modular homes are being placed on the West Coast of the U.S. What’s next?

Self-promotion by companies, while necessary, clearly isn’t working at a pace that can head off the looming manufactured home industry crisis. Who says? The public, judging from the rougly 10 to 1 view rate of the Amazon connected video to the widely touted – including on TV – Clayton Homes video.